WASHINGTON  Guns are more likely to be stolen in states with high crime rates, large numbers of gun owners and where laws are lacking on safe storage of firearms, according to a study released Wednesday.

The report by the Americans for Gun Safety Foundation says nearly 1.7 million firearms were reported to police as stolen from January 1993 through August 2002. The number of guns stolen per year has declined, from 221,322 reported in 1993 to 138,035 in 2001, the report says.

The study says the decline in gun thefts coincides with a simultaneous drop in crime in the USA and an increase in use of gun locks and storage devices.

The group, which advocates stronger gun-storage laws, relied on numbers collected by the FBI. The numbers show that nearly 688,000 stolen firearms were recovered during the 10-year period, leaving more than 1 million missing and most likely fueling the black market for criminals.

Nearly 10% of state prison inmates incarcerated on gun crimes say the weapons they used were stolen.

"A stolen gun is like gold to a criminal because it can be quickly resold without fear of it being traced," says Jim Kessler, the foundation's policy and research director.

Six states — Alaska, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, New Mexico and Georgia — had firearm theft rates at least twice the national average, which is 16.8 stolen guns per 1,000 households, the report says.

"For the most part," the report says, "these states share three common traits: a large percentage of gun owners, relatively high crime rates and no laws requiring safe storage of firearms in the home."

California, Texas, Florida, Georgia and North Carolina had the highest number of gun thefts over the past 10 years. But those states drop out of the top five when population is taken into account.

The report also says that the 18 states that have safe storage laws had 26.3% lower than average firearms thefts.

Of those states, four — Nevada, North Carolina, Texas and Florida — ranked in the top half of states measured by thefts per 1,000 households.

"The (National Rifle Association) has advocated for 131 years the significance of safe storage," says Andrew Arulanandam, a spokesman for the NRA.

"This (report) is yet another example of a gun control group struggling to find political relevance," he says.

Among the report's findings:

It is 23 times more likely that a firearm will be stolen than used by a child to commit suicide or cause accidental injury or death.

More than 80% of firearm thefts are from homes or cars.

Federal prosecutors rarely bring charges for possession or sale of stolen guns. In 1999 and 2000, they prosecuted 708 stolen-gun cases. In those years, more than 286,000 guns were reported stolen. Under federal law, stolen-gun crimes carry up to 10 years in prison.

Experts estimate that there are up to 250 million guns in the USA. About 40% of households report having a firearm in the home.